I swear, eBay never ceases to amaze me. I bought this nice reversible compote for $22.50 and just sold it on eBay for $237.50 u.s. dollars. That's CRAZY. I black-lighted it and it's definitely not American Brilliant, so I listed it in Vintage Cut Glass on eBay. Now, I'm curious as to why it would sell for such a high price. Not that I'm complaining, I just love it when I buy something low and sell for an insane amount. Any ideas???

1) Top notch photography alwatys helps on Ebay2) It may not be "Brilliant" but seems to have some age. I note that a tendril was very neatly cut to "hide" a small bubble. Apparently that's what they did back then.....I'm not expert enough to say when but would hazard as early as late colonial (early Victorian) - just a guess.3) It could be my imaginagtion but I think I detect a faint blue-gray tint which would also fit in with that age.3) The cutting is very detailed and beautifully done. A quality piece.

It did have the feel of a quality piece, but I would of never guessed it selling for that amount. The blank indeed was a blue-ish gray, like Tuthill glass. I also thought the lapidary cut ball was a indication of another manufacturer but couldn't find anything in my catalogs. It was also a very heavy piece, 3 pounds of glass for only being 10-inches tall.

Nancy your piece certainly has characteristics of Tuthill. I do have a question about the use of a blacklight. I have handled a lot of Brilliant period cut glass and when I shine my black light on it, nothing happens. What am I missing, exactly what is suppose to be the result from shining a black light on it. Hope you don't think this is too dumb of a question, Terry

That's not a dumb question at all. In fact, up until a few weeks ago I still had not perfected the black-lighting process. But here's what I did. Remember when you could buy the florescent lights that you could stick on the bottom of your kitchen cabinets? I'm not sure if you can still get them, but I would try Walmart, they seem to have everything. But the light had a regular white florescent tube, so I just exchanged the tube for a black light florescent tube that I purchased at Home Depot. The key is total darkness. If you don't have total darkness, ABP will floresce purple. If it's an authentic piece of ABP it will turn green like vasaline glass. I also found that EAPG and Flint glass will turn green too. It helps to identify whether or not you have purchased a fake. Here's a couple of pictures, the 2nd picture is not the best because I was not in my laundry room which is total darkness, but you can see a little bit of the green on the rim in this light, which is still getting the afternoon sun even with the blinds closed. I find that a black light bulb doesn't work it has to be a tube.

That I believe is the effect of using a manganese compound as the decolorising agent, and what I was trying to explain to Butchie Dog on his post on sun purpling. I also think that the consensus is that manganese is an out of date decoloriser, and its presence can therefore sometimes be used to help guide dating. Occasionally it can be seen in less than total darkness (the airing cupboard is always a good bet!) but that may be in glass where a manganese salt is used as a colorant. This manganese effect is often misattributed to uranium in green glass, but its a completely different glow

Yes, you're right it is a different green glow. I was just trying to give an example what someone should be looking for when they black light a piece of ABP, EAPG or Flint. If it is an authentic piece it will turn a lime green.

That was a wonderful reversible comport and could very likely have been American Brilliant. Also keep in mind as I'm sure you know that not all American Brilliant Cut Glass Co's glass fluoresced, Hunt Cut Glass Co for one was known to not fluoresce green. Also there was also reference to WC Anderson and some receipts that were found in his clothes for glass blanks from France. WC Anderson was one of the important glass cutters and designers for Libbey and also founder of the short lived American Cut Glass Co. His patterns and pieces fetch big dough quite a bit. So, as much as many collectors of abp cut glass prefer to have the color fluoresce green, there are other great pieces out there that don't. Your shape and form of your piece look American to me, Val St Lambert's early turn of the century glass does too. Thanks for sharing the recipe that was great. There are alot of good deals to buy and sell on ebay if you look for the right things at the right time. There are some real sharp glass buyers on ebay and not much passes them buy. I know I hunt to buy too. Chip

I also have to agree with Peter and while I am about it IMHO I think it is foolish and unwise to use a blacklight to determine the age or authenticity of glass unless you are specifically looking for glass containing uranium.

I live in a basement and believe me at night there is total darkness and with my blacklight, none of my EAPG, Cut glass, or Flint will shine with an unearthly glow.

I am not saying that some will not glow, I am sure it does, but we must remember that at the time much of this was made, glassmaking was an inexact sicence. Hence you will find aberrations. Terry